Caryl Churchill. Sarah Kane. Chris Ramsey? Heads turned late last year when the Royal Court in London announced a season of standup, programmed by big shot comedy producers Avalon, and featuring – among others – the co-host of the marital banter podcast Shagged. Married. Annoyed. At one of the UK’s – the world’s, even – most respected playhouses, renowned for the purity of its commitment to radical new drama, “it’s grim to see the cupboard looking so bare” tweeted one critic. Grim, maybe. Unique? Far from it. Park theatre in London recently announced a new comedy strand to its programme, becoming the latest of many playhouses responding to trying times by reaching for the nearest comedian.
That’s happening for a variety of reasons, says its executive director, Catherine McKinney, although “there’s no point pretending there isn’t a financial undertone, because there is”. Let’s be clear: theatre is skint. Costs are up, subsidy is down, the old sources of funding are evaporating. This week, a report suggested that the Royal Court’s literary department, responsible for the cultivation of new plays, was under threat. In such a climate, says McKinney, why wouldn’t you turn to standup comedy? “The outlay is lower than for theatre. There isn’t the need for a period of rehearsal, for complicated sets, all the things that go into making a full-scale theatre production. You can make it happen quickly and easily.”
